Well we could start by eliminating "victimless" crimes and immediately paroling those who were found guilty of them to clear room in our prisons. Drug users, prostitutes, people prosecuted under morality laws. Then we can enact stiff penalties for violent criminals and offer them no parole, no probation, no time off for good behavior. Concentrate on convicting and imprisoning people who pose a legitimate threat to our society.

Agreed. People who pose a threat to another are the ones who should be caged. If someone buys a bunch of pot so they can eat a bag of chips and play an old Super Nintendo game, we shouldn't be caging them, and we CERTAINLY shouldn't be paying for their incarceration.